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THE PARTY THAT IS PETER SELLERS | 20TH CENTURY’S COMEDIC GENIUS

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Peter Sellers was a complicated soul– reportedly a violently moody, self-loathing manic depressive with a voracious appetite for drugs and women. His wild lifestyle undoubtedly weakened his heart (in 1964 alone he suffered 13 heart attacks during his marriage to Britt Ekland), and led to his untimely death at the age of 54 in 1980. Admittedly Sellers was not always the funnest guy in real life, but he was undeniably a comic genius onscreen. I never was one for The Pink Panther films, maybe I didn’t give them a fair shake– but I love the madcap classics The Party (directed by Blake Edwards), What’s New Pussycat? (screenplay by Woody Allen), Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick’s dark classic), and the simply brilliant, Being There. He hung out with George and Ringo from The Beatles, and had a penchant for style that matched his rock star lifestyle. Peter Sellers will go down as one of the most unique comedic talents of the 20th century.

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1968 — Peter Sellers in “The Party” directed by Blake Edwards

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Peter Sellers in “The Party”

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Peter Sellers in “The Party”

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Peter Sellers in “The Party” w/Claudine Longet, infamous for shooting her boyfriend, ski racer Spider Sabich, in the mid-70s. The Rolling Stones wrote their Bo Diddley-esque (‘Some Girls’ period) song “Claudine” about her. she also did a sweet version of ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’. — Simonside

Swedish stunner Britt Ekland became an instant celebrity and sex symbol upon her marriage to Peter Sellers in 1964 — he soon suffered from a series (13) of brutal heart attacks the following Spring. They would divorce in 1968, and the voracious Ekland went on to have relationships with George Hamilton, Warren Beatty and Rod Stewart, just to name a few.

Anahiem, CA, April 7, 1964 — SELLERS ON OUTING BEFORE HEART ATTACK — Peter Sellers, critically ill in Hollywood of a heart attack, last Saturday as he and his bride, Swedish actress Britt Ekland, began a visit through Disneyland with Sellers’ children by a former marriage, Sarah, 4, and Michael, 8. Sellers was stricken early yesterday. via

“Soft Beds, Hard Battles” is still a personal Sellers favourite of mine. Not a commercial success… but it truly looked like Sellers enjoyed making this movie. Unfortunately its easier trying to procure a kilo of Kryptonite than to find this on DVD or VHS today 😦
If you can find it I would recommend viewing…

peter sellers: fabulous, virtuous, hysterical and a tiny bit scary… great post, once again. in pic 4 and 10 we see claudine longet, infamous for shooting her boyfriend, ski racer spider sabich, in the mid-70s. the stones wrote their bo-diddleyesque (‘some girls’-period) “claudine” about her. she also did a sweet version of ‘let’s spend the night together’.

i’d love to see a post on the unforgettable romy schneider here some day…

Now You are talking!
Like many wonderful comedians,(Milligan, Hancock, Feldman …..etc) Sellers was prone to dark periods of crippling self-doubt. He lightened up so many average movies, and made some really good Pre-Hollywood British films too. Has any other actor appeared in such a pitch perfect swansong suited to his talents as “Being There” ??? Another masterful snippet of an evocative time. Well Played, Amigo

An absolute comedic genius and a personal favorite. The Party is beyond brilliant, but…. Sellers can do no wrong in my book. You really oughta give the Pink Panther movies a chance. Not his best work, but still better than most. He was also brilliant in The Goon Show. Definitely need to give those a listen. Monty Python wouldn’t exist were it not for Sellers and the rest of the Goons.

Being There is one of my all-time favorites! I didn’t used to be a big fan of the Pink Panther movies but I recently re-watched the first and had a change of heart- David Niven and Peter Sellers together are spectacular.

I Love You Alice B Toklas is another great Sellers performance. I am convinced that this film inspired Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, which Kubrick initially described as a comedy and he originally wanted Steve Martin to play the lead in the ’70’s (after seeing The Jerk). Eyes Wide Shut is a much more enjoyable film if you watch it with that parallel in mind – one experience with pot causing a couple’s lives to collapse into absurdity for 24-48 hours.